Don’t you fret, my dear Veggin’ reader, I have not disappeared, just got a little caught up with lots of cycling, traveling and whatnot. In fact, this recipe was whipped up during some of my “whatnot” – a lovely summer sickness that included coughing and wheezing and other fun stuff.

As noted before, I’m on a journey to find and cook delicious veggie burgers this summer. This recipe is a winner, but, I’ll admit, these burgers are not meant for the grill. They’ll fall right through. In fact, I modified the cooking part of this recipe a little bit and heated them in a cast iron pan in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes flipping them part-way through. (I mark this adjustment in the recipe below).

These burgers were spicy, hearty, spicy and quite flavorful. Exactly what I needed to eat to make me feel better.

Pressure cook the brown rice (22 minutes, first ring) while prepping the rest of the ingredients. The brown basmati or jasmine are essential because of their “stickiness” which binds the burgers together.

In a large saute pan over med-low heat, add 1 tbs. olive oil and cook the sliced onions slowly with a pinch of salt until well cooked and golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and optional jalapeno and cook 1 additional minute. Add the black pepper, smoked paprika, chipotle and cook 1 additional minute.

Don’t be gentle, mash the hell out of it if you like. — or put half of it in a food processor. (Megabeth note: Definitely put half in the food processor, otherwise there isn’t really enough “stickiness” to hold the patties together.)

Check for salt. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Form the burgers into patties and cook in a cast iron pan (regular or grill pan) with a little olive oil until golden brown on both sides. (Megabeth note: Or, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add a little olive oil to a cast iron pan. Place patties in pan and bake for 20 minutes flipping once until heated through and browned.)